In the spring of 2020, as a middle-aged single man living alone in London, I was invited by a young family in my church to "bubble” with them for the foreseeable future, while Covid restrictions began to be implemented.
Throughout the various lockdowns, I spent all day every Sunday with them and one evening midweek too. I’d been feeling emotionally low for the previous year, so I don’t think I’m being overly dramatic if I say that it probably saved my life.
A little over a year ago, they came back from a holiday in Australia with a clear sense that God was calling them to help plant a church in Sydney.

When I picked up this short booklet, my interest was piqued. However, I was also somewhat sceptical of how the subject of polyamory or consensual non-monogamy (where “all parties agree that the relationship is not exclusive”) might impact me, my church and the ministry of TFT. By the time I’d finished reading the booklet, it had certainly made me sit up and take note.

One thing that compounds any pain is the feeling that one is alone, abandoned, that there is no one else who understands. This sense of isolation and being unseen, cut off, is the very essence of what it means to feel lonely. However, one of things that has helped me personally to get up off the floor of my deepest moments of loneliness is the reminder that I am not the only person who has felt alone.

Friendships are an essential part of our daily Christian lives, and yet few of us have a biblical theology of friendship. This article seeks to highlight a few key biblical principles for us to live and evaluate our friendships by.

I had recently asked my Barnabas group for advice about how to develop friendships with other women in light of same-sex attraction. So, when my group leader asked me to read and review “No Greater Love”, I eagerly agreed, hopeful to gain some clear insights, as well as a deeper theological understanding of friendship. I was not disappointed.

Friendship is a precious relationship. Over the years I have been very grateful for many friends with whom I have shared the up and downs of our lives. I am particularly thankful for those friends with whom I have grown close enough to be able to share my life-journey with same-sex attraction. When I was an undergraduate, the first fellow student I shared that with became a lifelong friend, though we now live hundreds of miles apart.

I have a plaque in my kitchen given by a friend with the quote: “Friendship is like sunshine, it keeps us warm and helps us grow.” Certainly, friendship has been described as many things, from a garden of flowers, to chocolates, to a ship believe it or not! (“There are big ships and small ships but the best ship of them all is friendship” - Anon.)

As someone who neglects reading books, I am so glad that I have read this one. I believe it will be a game-changer in my friendships.

John Wyatt starts with a brief history of friendship and shows us what has happened to it in our generation. We look at the examples of friendship in the Bible and how friendship is lauded in the Book of Proverbs. Clearly, it is an issue that is important to God; amazingly, he invites us to be friends with Him!

During my Curate training, the higher-ups thought it would be a good idea to make me (I use that word deliberately) do a placement in a school. To be fair, it was indeed a good idea. The thinking is that it helps Assistant Curates (assistant ministers) understand the inner workings of Church of England schools. When I wasn’t accidentally giving the wrong answers to Key Stage Two maths questions (that was humbling!), I was observing just how easy it was for the children to make friends. No drama. No angst. Friendship was just so natural for them.